3 comments on “NEW: Bright & Soft Color Guides”

Hi Jen…Being an occasional but ardent fan of your website…I was excited to purchase the new bright and soft color guides in hope of getting a little more information about my color type…(ie bright, warm and deep…which I already have guaged from all the wonderful information you have freely provided).
The download process for these new bright and soft guides was smooth and swift…
However, I was dissapointed to note that these new guides seem to be very GENERAL guidelines for BRIGHT and SOFT only.

Considering that I am bright WARM and deep (Deep Autumn)…i was confused with the fact that you mentioned wearing icy colors in the lighter spectrum for the BRIGHT LEVEL 6 group ….colors that look absolutely awful on me…and again, BEING BRIGHT and WARM…the information given here seems (to me) more appropriate for the bright and cool (according to your fabulous posts that I have meticulously read over the past few months)…

I dont mean to come across as critical – this being your field of expertise, but only just wanted you to confirm my doubts below…

Are these new bright and soft guides referring only to the universal colors of your color wheel??…because there is no mention made about WARM OR COOL .

Once again, I am in awe of the depths of your knowledge of color, your friendly and personal advice to all around the globe and most importantly the simplicity of your color system…doing away with all those confusing color groups!!

Btw, being a professional artist /designer for over 25 years and despite being well versed with the details of the theory of color…knowing and understanding what colors work harmoniously for oneself can still be a daunting task.
Thanks once again for making this much easier !!

First, you are not a Bright Level 6 which is why this information doesn’t suit you. You are a Bright Level 5. That information is for you.
You are right, in that, most people who type themselves as a Bright Level 6 will likely have cool undertones. This is never absolute but likely.

As far as Warm and Deep, you would Bright level 5. Those light colors will not suit you, as you’ve already noticed.

These guides are designed to help you start working with colors without getting stuck on undertones. The description of these guides even explains that this focuses on universal colors so that you don’t have to worry about undertones right away.

This is an excellent first step for those who get stuck on the warm vs cool undertone question.

I also wanted to help people see that there are a LOT of colors they can wear right now without worrying about undertones.

Dear Jen
Your color analysis of me was spot-on!!
Thanks a million for your very prompt, accurate analysis of my queries…and also for confirming that I am a level 5 intensity instead of a level 6 (although you didnt have a photo of me…but just a very brief description of my coloring based on your previous blogs about bright/soft and warm/cool).
Although I can pull off a stark black outfit…I inevitably add a bit of bling to it. Deep down I’ve instictively felt that softer blacks (deep charcoal or black browns) always looked better on me than a stark black…the true test…my warm dark brown eyes always look more alive with a black-brown eyeliner rather than with a jet black one. Also, I’ve recently discovered that a bright pink-red lipstick (watermelon) or warm toasty reds really look very pleasing on my med fair Indian skintone (Mac NC 25/30).

Every thing you’ve said about the intensity of colors for level 5 is so true about me…right upto the bright med deep colors, sparkly mettalics and gems…btw, mat colors do really look drab on me.

Here’s a little insight into my intial quest for finding my right color zone which began in the early 80’s at the age of 18.
After stumbling on a magazine article…Color me Beautiful by Carol Jackson (?) the reason for my aversion to red lipsticks was finally layed to rest …
The kind of reds that looked fabulous on my mother and sister but looked garish on me…was that they simply belonged to the winter group ….bright and cool…whereas I belonged to the autumn group…bright and warm.
I later discovered that mums lipsticks (blue reds) were the reason that I hated reds…they were right for her wheatish complexion but all wrong for my sallow med fair skin…It was always annoying to be told by her that I “had too much going on in my head” (being naturally more artistic than the rest of my family that remark really irked me)…till I triumphantly showed her the Color Me Beautiful article …which finally ended in confirming my thoughts …
From then on…my quest for finding the perfect warm red and autumn palette never ended…it was still not quite right for me!!

Until 28 years later…I went on to do a google search of my favourite 80’s article… Color me beautiful…and stumbled upon the 4×4 color system…voila! …I now discovered that I was a Deep Autumn…I was overjoyed – having finally found my color niche.
Having said that, the last 2 years, led to the discovery of you… the amazing Jen Thoden!
You are constantly evolving …and everytime I catch up on your blogs …I’ve learnt something more about my coloring…and your brilliant color system.

Even at 51, its never too late!
May be, the next time around…it will be about queries on my “strange” medium-fair sallow skin now turning reddish with pigmentation… versus the just about beginning -to -show greys on my dark charcoal brown hair!